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I agree. The articles and press releases over the last few days make it sound more solid than not.

Manufacturing breakthroughs alter the established paradigms.

I would not get to excited. They released the model number and specs for the 15" OLED in 2010 and it never materialized either. With LG it is wait until you see them sitting on the shelf and even then they have a bad history to maintain mass production. OLED may just wind up as another superior tech that gets done in by cheaper slightly inferior technology for a myriad of reasons. A la betamax/vhs, bluray/hddvd, DLP/LCOS, LCD/Plasma etc.

Those metaphors do not compute. Blu-ray is technically superior to HD DVD (it's only the software that levels the playing field a tad, and this is even debatable to Java lovers). LCD and Plasma have been coexisting for over a decade. I can agree with Betamax vs VHS (am unfamiliar with DLP/LCOS).

All of this rehashing of what happened in the past is getting tiresome, and does not shed any real light on what will happen with OLED from here on out. LG may not have generated enough orders from dealers to make it worthwhile to launch those small RGB OLED panels, and of course their purchase of the WOLED rights was a clear signal that they were changing directions, much like they did the past year with their switch to passive 3D technology.

They are going to demostrate a 55inch WOLED in a few days from now at CES, and that is all that needs to be focused on. They will either bring it to market or not, and what happened in the past will have no bearing on how that plays out, and people making projections on where OLED displays will be, as far as market share, ten years from now is just a waste of time.

I will concentrate on what is available ten years from now, if I am in the market for a new display, around that time. Let us see how things play out for OLED this year and next, because that is all that really counts, except for those people who are always living in the past and the future, but never in the present.

" LG just made it official, its 55-Inch OLED 3D HDTV will debut at the 2012 International CES in Las Vegas on January 9. For the details and specs read the press release below.

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., Dec. 30, 2011 – LG Electronics will bring the future of home entertainment to the 2012 International CES® next month as the company unveils its revolutionary 55-inch class (54.6-inch diagonal) OLED HDTV. It is designed to recreate reality with perfection, using the Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display technology powered by LG’s TRIPLE XD Engine.
“The OLED TV is the ultimate display device, a culmination of the sophisticated technological advances made by LG,” said James Fishler, senior vice president, marketing and go-to-market operations, LG Electronics USA. “This next-generation display will further strengthen LG’s position as a true leader and trend-setter of the home entertainment industry. It is the TV of dreams.”
Whether in 2D or 3D, LG’s 55-inch (55EM9600) OLED TV is designed to display flawless, life-like images through picture quality that was technically impossible with previous LED/LCD display panels. Relying largely on self-lighted organic pixels, the OLED TV exhibits precise color, absolute contrast and blazing clarity. Boasting a contrast ratio of over 100,000,000:1, fifty times greater than that of LED/LCD display panels, the OLED TV displays vivid colors and the fine details, helping to preserve images with utmost clarity and sharpness, even when displaying scenes with dark lighting.
Such picture quality is complemented by the OLED TV’s lightning speed of under 0.1 microseconds. Such speed enables the OLED TV to display rapid movements and motions in a crystal clear manner while virtually eliminating blur or bleeding.
LG’s own TRIPLE XD Engine further contributes to the strengths of the OLED display panel through its three core capabilities. The TRIPLE XD Engine’s Dynamic Color Enhancer provides superior color reproduction, while the Contrast Optimizer and the Resolution Upscaler fine tune the OLED TV’s ability to present even the finest details in dramatic fashion.
LG’s OLED TV is as aesthetically pleasing as it is technologically sophisticated. Due to the ultra-slim bezel enabled by LG’s CINEMA SCREEN Design, the OLED TV exhibits a sleek, minimal exterior. As the OLED TV does not require a lamp or bulky support structures, the OLED TV is 4mm 3/16ths of an inch) thin and weighs a mere 7.5kg (16.5 pounds), making the OLED TV ideal for wall mounted display. Additionally, when mounted on a wall, the OLED TV’s design creates minimal space between itself and the wall. " - http://hdguru3d.com/lg-to-unveils-de...led/#more-2949

It occurred to me that since LG is going negative in their descriptions of LED/LCD displays, which they sell a lot of, they must feel confident that they are going to be able to deliver on their WOLED claims, and gradually have WOLED displays become their dominant or perhaps only TV products.

Otherwise; it becomes rather difficult for them to talk up WOLED, by describing the limitations of LED/LCD, while at the same time trying to continue to promote sales of those very same LED/LCD panels.

They must feel very confident about their ability to rapidly mass market WOLED.

It occurred to me that since LG is going negative in their descriptions of LED/LCD displays, which they sell a lot of, they must feel confident that they are going to be able to deliver on their WOLED claims, and gradually have WOLED displays become their dominant or perhaps only TV products.

Otherwise; it becomes rather difficult for them to talk up WOLED, by describing the limitations of LED/LCD, while at the same time trying to continue to promote sales of those very same LED/LCD panels.

They must feel very confident about their ability to rapidly mass market WOLED.

However LG doesn't sell the Elite sets that are the only thing that will likely be close to the price range of an OLED. Most consumers buying a $1000 panel won't care that an $8000 OLED is better as it is simply not an option. Those buying a $5k panel might but last I looked LG doesn't make anything in that range. If their main competition as they see it in this price range is the Elite then it makes sense to attack the technology even if they make it themselves.

However LG doesn't sell the Elite sets that are the only thing that will likely be close to the price range of an OLED. Most consumers buying a $1000 panel won't care that an $8000 OLED is better as it is simply not an option. Those buying a $5k panel might but last I looked LG doesn't make anything in that range. If their main competition as they see it in this price range is the Elite then it makes sense to attack the technology even if they make it themselves.

Yup and not to be a brand whore but I have never considered LG as a viable mfg for any display I would consider. My pop's had one of their PDPs and it was awful.

If they couldn't handle a top tier display in its current form then how do we know the quality we will be getting is very good until others jump on the bandwagon.

I will wipe my preconceptions of LG and wish them great success. This is their chance to build an image. Let's see.

It's more than cost but preconceived brand image. Glad to see this may be taking off soon.

LG has been known to cancel some products- I'm thinking of the 72" screen off the top of my head from CES 2011. That had a model number, too.

I'm not saying it's not going to happen, but it's probably between this panel and the 2nd gen Elite for 2012, that would be a good match up, since we could see how the best in LCD stacks up against OLED.

VT50 could be a runner up,which is likely since it'll be a third of the cost.

Where are people getting the 8K price for the WOLED TV from? It appears to be people just making wild guesses. From the description of how the units are assembled, it would appear that they may save a lot on certain components such as no BLU component required. Perhaps they may be able to pare down the price in rapid order, in order to grab a large market share before the competition catches up.

Keep in mind that they did go out an purchase the rights to the WOLED patents, and now they are already putting them to use, so I give them credit for being more nimble than Panny has been with the Pioneer Patents that they purchased, but never made much use of.

Yup and not to be a brand whore but I have never considered LG as a viable mfg for any display I would consider. My pop's had one of their PDPs and it was awful.

If they couldn't handle a top tier display in its current form then how do we know the quality we will be getting is very good until others jump on the bandwagon.

I will wipe my preconceptions of LG and wish them great success. This is their chance to build an image. Let's see.

It's more than cost but preconceived brand image. Glad to see this may be taking off soon.

Rick

You do realize LG's supplying panels for all those gorgeous Apple's monitors, Macs, iPads?

And Panasonic urgently jumped back to OLED-production now.They building big plant for OLED's. And LG can make 30 000 these TV's per month. No way it's gonna be 8G price. More likely around 4 000! It's gonna drop to that price fast,like it happens with LED backlight. IMHO

It's going to be around closer to $8000 than $4000. And they cannot make anywhere near 30,000 a month. That's fantasy for 2012.

There is no difference in HDMI cables. If you can see the picture without visible dropouts or sparklies, the cable is working at 100%. No other cable will display a better version of that picture. You're simply wrong if you think there is a better digital cable than one that is already working. (Oh, and plasma didn't die because of logistics problems, nor does OLED ship in big boxes because it comes from Korea.)

I saw greenland using the woled acronym and I can only find it standing for white organic LED. From this it sound like they are running white led through colour filters, and that that will hinder contrast. So that 100M->1 number looks unrealistic, i.e. only if the entire display is black. A few scattered non-black pixels could compromise that number substantially.

So does anyone know if these are WOLED for fact? Any ideas on what true contrast will be like? I actually don't think the current crop of lcds look that bad, so even if it is a moderate step up it could look very good, but if it is only a small step up, I don't know if it would be worth much of a premium.

Right, this may not be available in North America for 2012. The last LG OLED panel was sold in Europe and Asia. It might depend on how things pan out at the factory, since they're supposed to do a partial run this year.

I'm taking $5 bets from anyone who can photograph a LG branded boxed retail unit for sale, in the stores, before the end of 2012.
Like I said, I have serious doubts LG can deliver and if Apple chooses it as the display for the next years AppleTV, I would guess all units they could make in the beginning would go to them.

@Valnar
Yes, I agree. There is no need for being super thin when you would need an external box for the electronics and external speakers. Despite having a Harmony One, the girlfriend refuses to watch any thing but movies with surround sound. Claiming it is to loud and unnecessary for the news and afternoon shows. I think it is just more proof of this being a very limited production run.

I saw greenland using the woled acronym and I can only find it standing for white organic LED. From this it sound like they are running white led through colour filters, and that that will hinder contrast. So that 100M->1 number looks unrealistic, i.e. only if the entire display is black. A few scattered non-black pixels could compromise that number substantially.

So does anyone know if these are WOLED for fact? Any ideas on what true contrast will be like? I actually don't think the current crop of lcds look that bad, so even if it is a moderate step up it could look very good, but if it is only a small step up, I don't know if it would be worth much of a premium.

I read it was "White-RGBW". If so the color filters will not affect contrast at all. It should still be infinite. Each subpixel consists of a white OLED and a filter, so each subpixel can still be completely shut off. The filter does not affect this, and other active pixels and subpixels do not affect this either.

Additionally there will be a white subpixel without a filter so that each pixel consists of 4 (RGBW) subpixels. This will compensate a bit for the efficiency loss caused by the RGB filters.

It seems like a good design. No issues caused by different degradation of different RGB OLED materials, easy to produce because the subpixel matrix consists of just 1 OLED material, and still reasonably energy efficient due to additional white subpixel.

My issue with the white sub pixel is wondering how it deals with calibrating the white point. Unless the white is exactly D65 you are going to need to add in some combination of red, green and blue to get white correct, but will that be easier or harder than without the white pixel? The main benefit I see is added brightness from 33% more pixels with a white screen but with OLED I'd think your contrast ratio is high enough already. And this would need a panel with more pixels which would reduce yields and increase costs for an unknown benefit.